Surgical apparatus including surgical buttress

Abstract

An end effector for a surgical stapling apparatus is provided which includes an anvil assembly and a surgical buttress. The anvil assembly includes an anvil body and an anvil plate. The anvil plate includes a bottom surface that defines a plurality of staple forming pockets. The anvil body and the anvil plate are selectively connectable. The surgical buttress includes a buttress body and a plurality of arms extending from the body. The arms are disposable between a top surface of the anvil plate and a bottom surface of the anvil body to support the buttress body against the bottom surface of the anvil plate when the anvil plate and the anvil body are connected to one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An end effector of a surgical stapling instrument, the end effector comprising:
 a staple cartridge assembly having a plurality of surgical staples arranged in rows; 
 an anvil assembly defining a longitudinal axis and including an anvil body and an anvil plate, the anvil plate including a bottom surface defining a plurality of staple forming pockets, the anvil body and the anvil plate being selectively connectable, the anvil assembly defining channels extending across the longitudinal axis and disposed between the anvil body and the anvil plate when the anvil body and the anvil plate are connected, wherein the channels are formed by the anvil body and recessed from a bottom surface of the anvil body; and 
 a surgical buttress including a buttress body and a plurality of arms extending from the body, the arms being disposed in the channels to support the buttress body against the bottom surface of the anvil plate when the anvil plate and the anvil body are connected to one another. 
 
     
     
       2. The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein the surgical buttress is formed of a non-woven material. 
     
     
       3. The end effector of  claim 2 , wherein the surgical buttress is made from a material selected from the group comprising polyglytone 6211, glycolide, caprolactone, trimethylene carbonate, lactide and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       4. The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein the arms of the surgical buttress are integrally formed with the buttress body. 
     
     
       5. The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein the arms of the surgical buttress extend from side edges of the buttress body. 
     
     
       6. The end effector of  claim 5 , wherein the arms of the surgical buttress are foldable over an outer side surface of the anvil plate to facilitate securement of the arms between a top surface of the anvil plate and the bottom surface of the anvil body. 
     
     
       7. The end effector of  claim 1 , further comprising a knife that translates through the end effector to cut the surgical buttress. 
     
     
       8. The end effector of  claim 1 , wherein the channels extend across an entire width of the anvil body. 
     
     
       9. A surgical anvil assembly, comprising:
 a surgical buttress including a buttress body and a plurality of arms extending from the body; 
 an anvil body; 
 an anvil plate selectively connected to the anvil body; and 
 a plurality of channels formed by the anvil body and extending across a width of the anvil body and disposed between the anvil body and the anvil plate when the anvil body and the anvil plate are connected, the plurality of arms of the surgical buttress disposed in the plurality of channels to support the buttress body of the surgical buttress against the anvil plate. 
 
     
     
       10. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the surgical buttress is formed of a non-woven material. 
     
     
       11. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the surgical buttress is made from a material selected from the group comprising polyglytone 6211, glycolide, caprolactone, trimethylene carbonate, lactide and combinations thereof. 
     
     
       12. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of arms of the surgical buttress are integrally formed with the buttress body. 
     
     
       13. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of arms of the surgical buttress extend from side edges of the buttress body. 
     
     
       14. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of arms includes two arms extending from a first side edge of the buttress body and two arms extending from a second side edge of the buttress body, the first and second side edges being on opposite sides of the buttress body. 
     
     
       15. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of arms of the surgical buttress are foldable over an outer side surface of the anvil plate to facilitate securement of the plurality of arms between a top surface of the anvil plate and a bottom surface of the anvil body. 
     
     
       16. The surgical anvil assembly of  claim 15 , wherein a bottom surface the anvil plate defines a plurality of staple forming pockets. 
     
     
       17. A surgical stapling instrument, comprising:
 a housing; 
 an elongate member extending distally from the housing; and 
 an end effector supported on a distal end portion of the elongate member, the end effector including:
 a cartridge assembly configured to selectively receive a staple cartridge; and 
 an anvil assembly, the anvil assembly including:
 a surgical buttress having a buttress body and a plurality of arms extending from the body; 
 an anvil body defining a longitudinal axis and having a top surface and a bottom surface; 
 an anvil plate selectively connected to the anvil body; and 
 plurality of channels formed by the anvil body and recessed into the anvil body from the bottom surface of the anvil body, the plurality of channels extending across the longitudinal axis of the anvil body and disposed between the anvil body and the anvil plate when the anvil body and the anvil plate are connected, the plurality of arms of the surgical buttress disposed in the plurality of channels to support the buttress body of the surgical buttress against the anvil plate. 
 
 
 
     
     
       18. The surgical stapling instrument of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of arms includes two arms extending from a first side edge of the buttress body and two arms extending from a second side edge of the buttress body, the first and second side edges being on opposite sides of the buttress body. 
     
     
       19. The surgical stapling instrument of  17 , wherein the plurality of channels includes a proximal channel and a distal channel that are longitudinally spaced apart from one another. 
     
     
       20. The surgical stapling instrument of  claim 19 , wherein each of the proximal and distal channels is recessed into the anvil body from the bottom surface of the anvil body.